Effect of manure and nitrogen rates on growth and yield of garlic (Allium sativum L.) at Haramaya, Eastern Ethiopia

An experiment was conducted at Haramaya University, Horticulture Research Field, Haramaya during the period from 13 August, 2010 to 17 January, 2011 to investigate the effect of manure and different levels of nitrogen on yield and yield attributed traits. A local garlic cultivar was used for the study. The treatments consisted of four levels of nitrogen (0, 50,100 and 150 kg/ha) and three levels of goat manure (0, 10 and 20 t/ha). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in a factorial arrangement and replicated three times. The results revealed that interaction effects of nitrogen and manure significantly (P 0.05) on leaf number. However, the combined application of 50 kg/ha N and 10 t/ha manure significantly (P<0.05) increased mean fresh bulb weight, mean clove weight, total bulb yield, and harvest index. Maximum yield (27.8 t/ha) was recorded at the combined application of 50 kg/ ha N and 10 t/ha manure. It can, thus, be concluded that for short term garlic production, smallholder  farmers could not only get optimum yield of  garlic from the combined application of 50 kg/ha N plus 10 t manure/ha  but also could save considerably on inorganic fertilizers that can be used for increasing yield of other crops to enhance food security and income. Key words: Allium sativum, garlic, goat manure, nitrogen, yield.